One key to running a high output forage harvester in grass is to ensure it is presented with a well-shaped and dense swath. A four-rotor Claas Liner rake can gather in as little as 9.90m all the way up to 15.0m in a single pass, with the potential to produce a decent swath from lighter crops. The downside is these big rakes have an equally large sticker price when new. Why not consider a pre-owned buy?

Claas introduced the four-rotor Liner 3000 rake in 1999 and as with the successor Liner 3500 and 3600 will have 3.30m diameter rotors and the ability to gather from 9.90m to 12.50m in a pass. All Liner models have seen a few detail changes during their production run, largely aimed at improving dependability, ease of set up or features (see Model Improvements). The Liner 3500 introduced in 2011 followed the same design template as its predecessor. A key change was the new design of rotor head with spline as opposed to ‘lemon’ oval mounts for the tine arms. The very first Liner 3000 had a ‘pin and hole’ fitting system – see profi 8/2001 in the Test Centre. The Liner 3500 was a pretty strong seller, with these models now forming the bulk of pre-owned finds.